Dead Bed Bugs – What Should You Do Now?
Seeing dead bed bugs in your house could raise some concern. It might be a sure indication that your house is bed bug-infested. I used dawn dish soap to kill bed bugs.
- Though dead bed bugs are not easy to see, they have a lifespan too, right? You might start to wonder if there might be other live bed bugs that you need to start fighting right away; somehow, you might be right.
If you have seen dead bed bugs in your house, keep reading to find out what needs to be done.
[amazon bestseller=”best bed bug killer” items=”2″ template=”table”]Do You Know What a Dead Bed Bug Looks Like?
Usually, bed bugs are minute. They are smaller than two-tenths of an inch. Since they are flat, spotting them in your house is hard. Though they are insects, they don’t have wings.
Instead, they have six legs. They vary in color; some are brown, while some are close to white. Check these pictures of bed bugs.
After they have fed on enough blood, they appear to be reddish or dark. This one is caused by the color of blood.
Why have you found a Dead Bed Bug?
There are only two possibilities when you find dead bed bugs in your house. Either the bed bug came alone, or there are a lot more where it came from.
However, it is not possible that the bed bug you saw was a lonely traveler. It does not happen like that. There are always more, and you should start looking for a solution right away.
You should know that a healthy, well-fed female bed bug can lay up to 250 eggs throughout its lifespan. This is a big number considering that a bed bud could live up to six months.
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Since bed bugs can lay many eggs in a single day, you should start taking important control measures even when you spot a dead one. If you just ignore the situation, the situation could get serious and out of hand in a matter of days.
Inspect Your Home for More Bed Bugs
To find out the fate of your home in terms of bed bug infestation, you are going to carry out a careful inspection.
It is through inspection that you will know whether the dead bed bug has buddies that need to be fought.
During this time, try to major your focus on bed bugs that are still alive. Note that you might not see most of them even when you try harder since live ones know how to hide.
However, if you spot more dead ones, then you can be certain that your home is close to being bed0bug infested.
If you want to find live ones, you should be ready to do more digging. Look beneath the carpet, bedding, holes, and crevices in your house.
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Look for Common Hiding places
Bed bugs can get sneaky, and the fact that they are small works to their advantage. Therefore, you need to look carefully, and patiently is you want to be lucky at spotting them.
Their main hiding place is the bed, on which you sleep. On your mattress, search in the crevices, and you might be lucky to find some of them there. Also, check these pictures of bed bug bites.
They are flexible and can move very fast to places in which they can easily hide. Look at the mattress seams and bedsheets.
The other places in which bed bugs like to hide include box springs, electrical outlets, bed frames, chairs, picture frames, baseboards, and wallpapers.
These are the areas that you need to check to see if you have bed bugs in your house. Also, these pests are nocturnal, which means they go hiding during the day and come out to feed on your blood at night.
Therefore, while looking, you are likely to find them in areas where you spend most of your time while at home. Unless they are large in number, they tend to hide a few feet from where they get their food.
When you start looking for live bed bugs, you are supposed to have enough light so that you don’t miss anything.
A magnifying glass and a UV flashlight can be great tools to help you locate them. Also, you should try the search at night when they are active and mobile.
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What are other signs of bed bugs?
The truth is bed bugs are tiny, and they move very fast, which means spotting them will be hard. Therefore, you need to start looking for other signs that your house is bed bug-infested.
Start by looking for the signs of feces. You will find these around the bed frames and mattresses and in other areas that bed bugs like to use for hiding.
If you see things that look like small, dark, spots, then you shall have found them. The other signs that you might have bed bugs in the house are tiny red spots on your bedsheets.
This can happen when you killed a bed bug unknowingly while asleep. Since they will be small spots, you need to get out your spotlight so you can see them.
The other thing is that before they reach the adult stage, bed bugs molt several times. Therefore, you need to look for exoskeleton in areas that they use for hiding.
You are likely to find them in your bed sheets and mattress seams. Their exoskeletons are pale yellow in color and to see them clearly, you will need a magnifying glass.
The last sign that you are about to deal with bed bugs is there eggs and eggshells beneath your mattress and bed frame. You might also see them in the crevices of your mattress.
They are very small, so get out your flashlight. Though bed bugs do not create nests, live ones and their eggs are usually found in colonies. Make sure to look in the tight hiding spots if you want to find them.
Home Remedies for Bed Bugs
Though you might think of hiring exterminators, it is a process that might cost a lot of money. There are steps that can be done at home to rid bed bugs permanently, and they are outlined below.
– Start by removing your beddings and washing them thoroughly. Put them in a clean environment and let them dry for more than thirty minutes. Use a dryer to kill bed bed bugs.
– Check your room and clear the clutter. Bed bugs look for piles of cloth since they can hide in the easily. Therefore, remove and wash them before you start cleaning the house. You want to ensure that they don’t have a safe place to hide in.
– After clearing the clutter, use a powerful vacuum attached to a strong hose on areas that bed bugs use for hiding and laying eggs. Consider using a bed bug vacuum or steamer with a HEPA filter since it will not leave any bed bug, baby bed bugs, and their eggs behind.
– On your bed frame, use a non-toxic spray to kill the hiding bed bugs that could not be reached with the powerful vacuum.
– Move your bed a few weeks away from the walls so that you have enough room to clean the house. Also, by moving your bed, you will remove the cups in which the bed bugs might hide.
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Can Dogs Carry Bed Bugs?
There is a possibility that your pet might have some bed bugs on their fur. This is true because their body can provide a perfect hiding haven for the bed bugs and other insects.
For safety purposes, you need to ensure that your pet does not have any bed bug on them before you start cleaning. Check their fur and if you find that they have bed bugs or signs of them, use a non-toxic spray to kill the bed bugs.
However, this should be done carefully since some pets might have sensitive skin. Such pets tend to develop allergic reactions when sprayed.
There are special pills that are created for pets that have allergic skin. If your pet falls in that category, give it the pill, and it will form a toxic layer so that when bed bugs try to feed on their blood, they die and fall off.
You can talk to your vet for the best way to administer the pills so that your pet does not get hurt in the process of fighting the best bugs.
Call an Exterminator: If your house is infested to a level that you can’t deal with, consider calling an exterminator. This also makes sense if you are not familiar with DIY techniques mentioned above.
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Conclusion
If you spot a dead bed bug in your house, it is important that you get ready to clean your home. Go for a pesticide with a long killing effect.
Make sure that you locate the areas used by bed bugs to hide and then using the right pesticide to kill them.
